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Tiny houses are promoted as an answer to the affordable housing crisis; a desirable alternative to traditional homes and mortgages. Yet there are many complexities and contradictions that surround these tiny spaces, as I discovered when I began investigating them. — Fast Company
There is something inherently romantic about the nomadic lifestyle cooked up in the 1960's, exemplified by the VW van and the desert campfire. While this relic of America's recent past became, undoubtedly, the inspiration for the Tiny Home movement in recent years, the reasons for its current... View full entry
For eight years in a row, an international survey of nearly 300 cities has named Hong Kong the world’s least affordable housing market. [...]
Architects and developers have also put forward some novel proposals, ranging from the quirky to the audacious. While some of the ideas may be repackaged versions of the cramped spaces the city has long known, others could reshape the future of housing in Hong Kong.
— The New York Times
The proposal by architect James Law to squeeze 100-square-foot micro apartments into concrete drainpipes was widely published a few weeks ago. The NYT lists a few more 'solutions' — some lofty, others being already implemented. View full entry
The goal with it is simple, says architect James Law: to utilize “leftover space” between buildings in Hong Kong, a city with limited land and a constant housing shortage. — Quartz
The city of Hong Kong has retained the title of the world's most expensive real estate market for the past seven years. As housing prices continue to soar, many residents are finding themselves with inadequate shelter, including over 200,000 people living in what has come to be referred to as... View full entry
For his latest project, Holiday Home – part of this year’s Folkestone Triennial (2 Sept to 5 Nov) – Woods has created six colorful bungalows, situated in unexpected locations around the town. — The Guardian
Richard Woods is known for his architectural installations that feature colorful, geometric patterns and playful decorative facades. For his latest project, the UK artist has installed six tiny, cartoon-like homes across the town of Folkestone. In his interview with the Guardian, the artist... View full entry
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that the city will be investing £25 million into constructing over 1,000 affordable prefab apartments. Funding from the city will go into purchasing small brownfield sites that will then be built on by Pocket Living, a developer specializing in... View full entry
Confined in Utah’s Mars Desert Research habitat for three days—habitat diameter: 33 feet—the five-person team experienced the cramped living quarters and zero-waste living necessary to survive a journey to outer space. — Quartz
Designers from IKEA are exploring space-saving solutions for tiny homes by living in an actual Mars research station. During the immersion workshop led by Constance Adams, NASA architect behind the habitat for the first human mission to Mars, the team examines the ways in which astronauts'... View full entry
Hong Kong is a crowded city. According to census figures reported by Quartz, 57,100 households live in spaces between 75 and 140 sq ft. And, for the most part, the conditions of these tiny homes aren’t exactly great. Enter Sandy Wong, the inventor of a “space capsule pod”, a 25 sq. ft... View full entry
The tiny house is just one example of the lengths to which people will go to create a sense of home even when they lack the means for it. It’s just one symptom of a much wider and intensifying search for belonging, which makes home as important to politics as the idea of class or rights – especially now, when so many people feel displaced, both literally and figuratively, by life in innovation-driven, high-tech, networked capitalism. — Aeon
Related stories in the Archinect news:Humans and other things that nestHow Tadao Ando defines his own "home for the spirit"The downsides of the charming "holdout" houses View full entry
[Berkowitz is now] offering custom pods for sale on Craigslist for people who want to make money with AirBnB or have their own subletters. [...]
The Department of Building Inspection reached out ... confirming that the pods are illegal and a violation of housing, building, and fire safety codes. [...]
"He would have to completely open it up or look at something different, such as a bed with a frame, with curtains, something that was open to the room." [...]
"there are fire safety realities."
— Hoodline
You may remember Peter Berkowitz's name from the not-an-April-Fools-Day post we made a couple weeks ago, reporting on the box freelance illustrator Berkowitz had constructed to live in his friends' apartment, at $400 a month. After the news took off, he had begun testing the waters in the rest of... View full entry
With the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment at $3,670 a month, the city’s housing crisis has pushed frugal renters to the edge of their comfort limits.
From tents to trucks, the next logical step in San Francisco has taken shape — in the form of a literal box. [...]
“I really don’t feel like I’ve taken a hit in terms of my quality of life,” said Berkowitz, 25. “I don’t really notice I live in the pod anymore.”
— washingtonpost.com
More on the extreme lengths of SF housing:Silicon Valley is set to get over 10K more housing units – is this the beginning of the end of its housing crisis?Shipping container village crops up in Oakland, offering alternative to sky-high SF rentsAirbnb rentals cut deep into San Francisco housing... View full entry
With the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment at $3,670 a month, the city’s housing crisis has pushed frugal renters to the edge of their comfort limits.
From tents to trucks, the next logical step in San Francisco has taken shape — in the form of a literal box. [...]
“I really don’t feel like I’ve taken a hit in terms of my quality of life,” said Berkowitz, 25. “I don’t really notice I live in the pod anymore.”
— washingtonpost.com
More on the extreme lengths of SF housing:Silicon Valley is set to get over 10K more housing units – is this the beginning of the end of its housing crisis?Shipping container village crops up in Oakland, offering alternative to sky-high SF rentsAirbnb rentals cut deep into San Francisco housing... View full entry
Cheryl Smith planned to move "off the grid" and into a small house near Clark's Harbour, N.S., a year ago.
But thanks to Canadian building regulations, the four-by-six metre structure remains half-built and empty. [...]
Canadian laws require living spaces to have access to power to run smoke detectors and air exchange systems.
But Smith said the point of moving into her tiny home was to disconnect from the power grid.
— ctvnews.ca
More from the tiny home world:Seattle high schoolers push to provide moveable, minimalist shelters for the homelessThe problem with tiny homes - they can get stolenSwedish architects design for un-permited small-space livingThe Tiny House Lover's Guide to RomanceTeenager builds tiny home to avoid... View full entry
